1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a sailboat traveler apparatus and more particularly to such travelers having bearings which will not bind in a track when the angle of pulling force on the traveler is changed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, travelers used in sailboats to position the point of downward pull on main sheets and the like moved in tracks having generally rectangular cross sections and the car or carriage of the travelers moved in the tracks on sliders or rollers. However, as the controlled equipment, such as the main boom, moved across the boat, the angle of pull on the traveler shifted and the traveler, particularly those using slides, bound in the track preventing easy movement. This is basically due to the fact that a sideward pull of the traveler within the track has less surface area to distribute the binding force than a pull along the direction of the track itself. This problem is particularly significant and even dangerous in some specialty boats such as catamarans where the crew has very limited range of movement and cannot easily reach the traveler to free it. The traveler apparatus of the present invention alleviates this problem.